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> My name is Richard Irvine and I am a lecturer at the Northern Territory
> University in Darwin, Australia.
[...]
> What I would like to be able to present the students with is a list of
> Golden Rules from people working in the industry. So, assume you have a
> young person in front of you who is about to embark on a technical writing
> career. What points would you pass on to them as the key fundamentals of
> technical writing?
[...]
1) Use the active voice.
2) Estimate how long a project will take, then multiply by two and add
two weeks for a better estimate.
3) Allow time to be angry when first reading review comments, then read
them again and incorporate the good ones.
4) Always write down anything anyone tells you, date it, and record the
source and the circumstances.
5) Interrupt and ask questions until you understand what anybody is
saying.
6) Schedule your work.
7) Nobody actually *wants* to read what you write; write so people
find exactly what they need as fast as they can.
|Len Olszewski, Technical Writer | "Incorrigible punster. Do not |
|saslpo -at- unx -dot- sas -dot- com|Cary, NC, USA| incorrige." - Saying on a button |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Opinions this ludicrous are mine. Reasonable opinions will cost you.|
